Who Will Start on Opening Day? Casspi, Cauley-Stein, or Koufos

Who will start the first game of the season for the Sacramento Kings?

  • Omri Casspi

    Votes: 15 22.1%

  • Willie Cauley-Stein

    Votes: 13 19.1%

  • Kostas Koufos

    Votes: 38 55.9%

  • Other

    Votes: 2 2.9%
  • Total voters
    68
  • Poll closed .
twslam07

twslam07

All-Star
#1
#1
Looking at the roster and how much cap space we have left, it doesn't seem like we're going to be bringing in anymore major pieces (most likely small deals for some bench guys). With that being said, there is a little discrepancy on what the starting lineup will be on opening day.

I think it's safe to say that Rondo, McLemore, Gay, and Cousins will all be starting.
  • Rondo due to ego, size of contract, and his play a couple years back
  • McLemore due to his defense (compared to Belinelli), size (compared to Collison), and continued development
  • Gay & Cousins due to...must I go on?
With the assumption that Vlade will not make anymore trades before the start of the season and that he just brings aboard a couple more bench veterans with the remaining cap space, who is the 5th player that George Karl will start on opening day?

***This is not a who you think should start poll. This is a poll made for predictions.
***It's also not a poll for who you think will be the long-term starter or who will eventually start down the road. Again, all that matters in regards to this poll is who starts the very first game.


So what will it be?

Rondo/McLemore/Casspi/Gay/Cousins

OR

Rondo/McLemore/Gay/Cauley-Stein/Cousins

OR

Rondo/McLemore/Gay/Cousins/Koufos

OR

Other
 
Widowmaker2k

Widowmaker2k

Bench
#2
#2
Well I'm under the impression that Karl doesn't like giving rookies big minutes, so I doubt WCS will start (though I'd be fine with it assuming he's capable). Probably Casspi and Gay in an annoyingly small starting lineup, though I'd be pleasantly surprised if we started Koufos at C and DMC at PF.
 
R

randymoss1881

Starter
#4
#4
Rondo/Ben/Gay/Koufos/Cousins
Bench: Collison,Marco,Butler,WCS

By all star break WCS should be starting and if Rondos shooting hurts Gay/DMC he better get his ass to the bench. Our bench squad is really good and should keep up with other benches. We have 3 very good shooters there and a big while having a good pg.
 
twslam07

twslam07

All-Star
#6
#6
randymoss1881 said:
Rondo/Ben/Gay/Koufos/Cousins
Bench: Collison,Marco,Butler,WCS

By all star break WCS should be starting and if Rondos shooting hurts Gay/DMC he better get his ass to the bench. Our bench squad is really good and should keep up with other benches. We have 3 very good shooters there and a big while having a good pg.
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Just nitpicking here, but why do you put Koufos before Cousins in your lineup? To me, that signifies that you think Koufos will be playing PF. I've always believed that the position you can guard is the position you can play. So in this case, do you think our team would have more success with Koufos guarding PFs and Cousins guarding Cs or vice versa? Seeing as Cousins is much more mobile, it makes sense to me that he would be tasked to guard PFs.

I'm interested to hear your take.
 
R

randymoss1881

Starter
#8
#8
twslam07 said:
Just nitpicking here, but why do you put Koufos before Cousins in your lineup? To me, that signifies that you think Koufos will be playing PF. I've always believed that the position you can guard is the position you can play. So in this case, do you think our team would have more success with Koufos guarding PFs and Cousins guarding Cs or vice versa? Seeing as Cousins is much more mobile, it makes sense to me that he would be tasked to guard PFs.

I'm interested to hear your take.
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I'd hope WCS can start but if not..
Id rather roll with Koufos at PF DMC would pick up to many fouls playing the 4. Also DMC demonstrated last year that he could be an elite paint protecter and anchor. If we put him at PF teams will just take him to the perimeter not good for us.
 
kingsboi

kingsboi

Hall of Famer
#10
#10
I'd like Cauley Stein to start immediately next to Cousins but since we are dealing with George Karl here, I don't see him starting a rookie, he will go with Kosta. The rest will be the same from last year.
 
twslam07

twslam07

All-Star
#11
#11
randymoss1881 said:
I'd hope WCS can start but if not..
Id rather roll with Koufos at PF DMC would pick up to many fouls playing the 4. Also DMC demonstrated last year that he could be an elite paint protecter and anchor. If we put him at PF teams will just take him to the perimeter not good for us.
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I don't question that C is Cousins best position, but would Koufos even be a starting caliber player when tasked to guard PFs? I'm not sure.

Koufos is no slouch when it comes to paint protection on the inside. I don't think the dropoff from Cousins to Koufos is as big as you think (if there is even a dropoff at all). Cousins is deceptively quick and a smart player. He should be able to hang with a good amount of PFs defensively. Does he matchup better defensively at C? I would say so, but the dropoff of Koufos guarding PFs to Cousins guarding PFs is much steeper than Koufos guarding Cs and Cousins guarding Cs. Your strongest defensive matchup is with Cousins at PF and Koufos at C.

Ideally you have a more mobile big next to Cousins so he can maximize his defensive potential at C, but with Cauley-Stein being an unknown commodity and with no other player on the roster falling into that description, you have to maximize your defense with Cousins at PF and Koufos at C.
 
T

The_Jamal

Hall of Famer
#13
#13
I don't think it really matters tbh. Cuz will get his 35 MPG and every other bigs spot will be between 20-25 MPG.

I hope its Koufos though. He's the front-court running mate Cuz has been wanting for five years. Kings fans will love how good on defense he is and just how consistently good he is on a night in and night out basis.
 
Widowmaker2k

Widowmaker2k

Bench
#15
#15
John Galt said:
Other: Rondo, Collison, McLemore, Gay, DMC.
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Man I hope not. That's such a small lineup and we have so many talented big guys. I guess it wouldn't really surprise me though. One thing I would love (though I don't think it will happen) about a DMC/WCS starting lineup is that DMC can play 4 on offense and 5 on defense.
 
G

Gilles

Starter
#19
#19
ElRey said:
I think Koufos will be starting until WCS is ready. Koufos at center and Demarcus slides to power forward. Koufos gets the defensive assignments.
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I remember the stat, that Kosta was allowing only 37 eFG% to P&R ballhandlers last season. It was against benchers obviously, but Koufos looks to be quite comfortable coming out towards 3-pt line, so he should be a nominal PF given that's where most offensive firepower among bigs resides these days.
 
L

Livinthedream

All-Star
#21
#21
sidney said:
Starting Rondo and Ben means that if Ben's shot is off we have no outside shooting. I have to wonder if Marco starts with Rondo to have better spacing. Ben and Collison would be great together in the 2nd unit.
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Ben shot 43% from the floor last year. Marco shot 42%. We'll be ok either way.
 
Jkbiker

Jkbiker

Starter
#22
#22
How bout Cuz,Gay,casspi,Ben,Rondo ( omri,Ben running floor with Rondo) Small Ball opponents
Koufos,WCS,Butler,Marco, Collison (3 shooters and two defenders Woot!)

Cuz, Koufos, Gay,Ben, Rondo ( When opponent has two big forward-centers We go Big))
WCS(3rd Big), Casspi,Marco,Collison

So many options!!! Our 9-10 man rotation is gonna be awesome
 
Guy Larboni

Guy Larboni

Prospect
#23
#23
Casspi was the best player we had coming of the bench, he's energy and enthusiasm were crucial when Cousins/Gay were on the bench. He's a classic 6th man.
Knowing Karl's work with Koufus in Denver on 12/13 (started 81 games) and the team was terrific - I have to think that he'll get the role to play alongside Cousins.

I'm going with:
Rondo
McLemore
Gay
Koufos
Cousins

2nd unit:
Collison
Bellineli
Butler? Anderson?
Casspi
Cauley Stein.

Yeah, I'm hyped for this season!
 
rainmaker

rainmaker

Hall of Famer
#24
#24
I don't know why some think Koufas is a 4. He's not.

Rondo
Marco
Rudy
WCS
Cuz

That should be our lineup. Allows for Rudy/Omri to play at the 4 for spurts next to a true center in Koufas while Cuz rests.

Roster currently is built perfectly for WCS to start at the 4 and get his feet wet while concentrating on defense next to the best center in the game while Kosta anchors our bench unit defensively. If WCS cant handle 20-25 mins starting next to Cuz, he cant handle anchoring our bench unit. He should be played next to Cuz/Kosta. That will allow for a smoother transition to this level. I want zero part of Rudy starting at PF. If you draft WCS and have a WCS/Cuz/Koufas big trio, hopefully we acquire a 4th big too, but result to starting Rudy at the 4 and playing pansy ball from the jump, then we've got a coach simply mismanaging his resources.
 
R

randymoss1881

Starter
#25
#25
sidney said:
Starting Rondo and Ben means that if Ben's shot is off we have no outside shooting. I have to wonder if Marco starts with Rondo to have better spacing. Ben and Collison would be great together in the 2nd unit.
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Starting Marco/Rondo and our defense is in trouble. Opponents backcourts would run circles around those two.
 
Dreadnought

Dreadnought

Bench
#27
#27
I don't see how on opening day, the starting lineup isn't:

Rondo
Ben
Gay
DeMarcus
Kostas

However, I can see Bellineli moving into the starting spot and I could see WCS starting over Kostas as well. In all situations, I see Kostas playing heavy minutes.
 
VF21

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
#28
#28
Ask again after the schedule is released and we know who we'll be playing. I honestly think our starting lineup will depend on who Karl decides would fit the best at the 4 for the game in question.
 
rainmaker

rainmaker

Hall of Famer
#29
#29
One of the worst thing a coach can do is change his lineup based on the opponent. Need chemistry and cohesiveness. It also implies bending to the opposition rather than having the opposition bend to you.

Opening night lineup should have zilch to do with the opponent. What it should be is the starting unit dictated by training camp Karl sees as his lineup for the first however many months of the season, barring injuries of course.

But changing lineups night to night at this level doesnt work as a strategy. SA does it from time to time but thats more to rest guys or to change a matchup in a playoff series. Much tougher to build a cohesive unit, especially defensively if changing the starting 5. Only the most veteran of squads could attempt such a thing. If we want consistency we have to start by having consistent lineups and rotations.
 
Dreadnought

Dreadnought

Bench
#30
#30
rainmaker said:
One of the worst thing a coach can do is change his lineup based on the opponent. Need chemistry and cohesiveness. It also implies bending to the opposition rather than having the opposition bend to you.

Opening night lineup should have zilch to do with the opponent. What it should be is the starting unit dictated by training camp Karl sees as his lineup for the first however many months of the season, barring injuries of course.

But changing lineups night to night at this level doesnt work as a strategy. SA does it from time to time but thats more to rest guys or to change a matchup in a playoff series. Much tougher to build a cohesive unit, especially defensively if changing the starting 5. Only the most veteran of squads could attempt such a thing. If we want consistency we have to start by having consistent lineups and rotations.
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I have to agree whole heartedly, but I think this will happen throughout the season as an unintentional side effect. I have zero confidence the starting lineup we see on opening night will be the same starting lineup we see after the all-star break that will be the same starting lineup we see at the end of the season. I think there's still going to be intense growing pains.
 
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